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5/28/15

TONIGHT at the MoCAD - Ancient/Urban: A Xenakis Sampler

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), one of the most highly regarded post-war avant grade composers, created challenging electronic and acoustic music using mathematical formulas and architectural principles. A Greek Resistance fighter in World War II, he fled to Paris as a political refugee in 1947, where he collaborated with Le Corbusier from 1947-1959, first as an engineer and later as an architect. He also studied music composition at the Paris Conservatory from 1950 to 1953 with Olivier Messiaen, who encouraged him to develop the compositional process for which he later became legendary.

Percussion artist Zac Brunell presents a program that combines acoustic percussion pieces by Xenakis with a sample of electronic presentations of seminal musique concrete compositions, exploring the sonic mathematics of physics and nature. The centerpiece of the performance will be 'Bohor,' an electronic piece for octophonic sound, and Xenakis' first large-scale electroacoustic work.